“This is so weird.” I spooned some creamy lobster bisque into my mouth and looked across the restaurant table at Nate.

He grinned. “That’s just what every guy wants to hear on the first date.”

I swallowed the rich soup, wildly shaking my head. “No. That’s not what I meant! Sorry. I me—”

He held up his hands. “Kidding, Georgie. I know what you mean. It’s weird that we’ve supposedly been dating for three months, but we’re only on our first date now.”

I nodded, my shoulders slumping with relief. “Yeah, I mean, if we ran into Mom or Libby, they’d think we were just out for any old dinner. They wouldn’t know how important it is.”

Nate lifted one eyebrow. “Important, huh?”

I laughed. “Oh, stop. Of course this is important.”

His eyes twinkled. “I thought you were just in it for the free seafood.”

“Well, I do love my seafood,” I replied with a smile, stirring my bisque. “But you’re pretty decent too.”

He winked theatrically. Lust surged inside me. God, this man was amazing. Funny, smart, kind. Hot as hell. I was a lucky woman.

I was also a very silly woman for pushing this away as long as I did. I shut myself off from feelings for so long that I forgot what it was like to really fall for a guy, but now that I was experiencing it all again, I realized just how much I missed this feeling, the giddy rollercoaster sensation of falling in love.

Wait… love?

Wow. Until now, I hadn’t thought of it like that. I knew my feelings for Nate were strong, but I hadn’t dared think of it in terms of the L-word. I’d been falling for him in some capacity since I met him, though, so I guess it made sense that this was the next step. For once, I wasn’t even remotely freaked out. That’s how I knew Nate was the right guy for me—the thought of falling in love with him didn’t scare the bejesus out of me.

But it couldn’t happen overnight. I knew not to rush into things like a madwoman, strong feelings or not, because there was always a chance Nate didn’t feel the exact same way. Hell, we hadn’t even established exactly what we were doing with each other yet, and for all I knew, he could be one of those people who needed a lot longer to get to the stage I was already at. That was fine. All that mattered right now was that we were finally giving this a real shot. Any declarations of love could come later.

I took a sip of wine, and Nate’s gaze never strayed from me, grey eyes gleaming with desire. “So what are we going to tell people?” he asked. “Might be a bit awkward in the future if we tell one person we got together at your sister’s wedding, and another few people think we got together three months before that.”

I nibbled on the corner of my lip. The future? Nate already thought of us like that? That was a good sign. My smile widened. I couldn’t wait to get him back to the hotel after this. I wanted his lips on mine again. Wanted him everywhere.

“I’m not sure,” I replied. “I guess we can come clean in a few weeks, after we’re back home.”

“Maybe. But what if your mom tries to act like you did this to try and wreck Libby’s wedding? I know that’s what you’ve been worried about.”

I shrugged. “I think she’ll get over it. It’s not like we’ve actually done anything to try and ruin the wedding, and by then, Libby and Bobby will be happily married. So she’ll have to believe that I only brought you here because of her incessant digging at me.”

Nate nodded. “I hope so.”

“Everyone is gonna think we’re crazy, though.” I smiled ruefully.

“They’ll think you’re crazy. I’m just the poor guy who got roped into your dastardly scheme and fell for your wicked charms along the way.”

I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure everyone will feel so bad for you.” I affected a deep voice to impersonate him. “Hello, my name’s Nate Scott and I’m a famous, super-hot genius who got a free vacation to an island. Please feel sorry for me!”

“Yeah, yeah.” He chuckled. “Y’know, I actually happen to think the way we got together is cute. It’d make a good movie, don’t you think?”

“Maybe. Who would play me?” I asked, leaning forward and braiding my hands on the table.

“You’d have to play yourself, because they wouldn’t be able to find an actress gorgeous enough to play you.”

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly. “Oh, you big old flatterer.”

Nate reached over and touched my hand. Electricity jolted up and down my spine. “You really are gorgeous. I hope you know that,” he said. He paused for a second, then went on. “Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something tonight.”

“Oh?”

“It’s about us. I wanted you to know, I—”

My stomach flipped as he spoke, and I felt a sudden tingling deep inside me. Not the fun kind. The decidedly less-fun kind.

Oh no.

I stood up so abruptly that my chair fell over in a loud clatter. “Sorry, I have to go,” I blurted out, cutting him off midsentence as I snatched my purse off the table.

Nate lifted an eyebrow. “Oh. I thought we were having fun.”

“We were. I mean, we are,” I said hurriedly. “But I… bye!”

I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I had to go. Now.

As I ran away, I turned my head over my shoulder for a split second. Nate looked so confused and offended, watching me dash off as if he’d just informed me that he had fleas and leprosy. I felt bad, truly. For him and myself. My guts were churning, and if I didn’t make it to the nearest bathroom right now, there might be some sort of explosion.

Unfortunately, Nate’s feelings would have to wait.